The Hague court ruled that Malaysian flight MH17 was shot down in July 2014 by a Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile system. The missile was launched from the occupied village of Pervomaiske.
The judge stated that the Buk missile system, which shot down the plane, was sent to the front line, where it was used by the fighters of the so-called “DPR”, a Russia-backed separatist group in Donbas. This caused the disaster.
Russians tried to hide the crime
The Hague court stated that the Buk missile system, which shot down MH17, was brought to the “DPR” from Russia and then taken back to hide the traces of the crime. It is also officially documented that Russia supplied weapons and financed the “DPR” terrorist organization.
It is unknown who exactly gave the command to launch the missile. The court found that Oleg Pulatov was responsible for organizing the “corridor” through which the “Buk” was taken. Girkin and Kharchenko gave instructions and negotiated with the so-called “LPR” and responsible individuals in Moscow.
Malaysia Airlines Boeing-777 was shot down on July 17, 2014, in the sky over the Donetsk region. It was a flight MH17 Amsterdam (Netherlands) – Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). All passengers and staff were killed – 298 people. Most of them were citizens of the Netherlands.
The total amount of compensation for the relatives of the victims of the crash will be more than 16 million euros.
By the way, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted to the first verdicts on MH17. He stressed that this is a very important decision, but those who masterminded and ordered this murder must be also judged. Impunity will lead to new similar crimes.
Trial of DPR militants: what is known
The court found Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov, and Leonid Kharchenko involved in the MH17 crash.
They were sentenced to life imprisonment. However, the sentence was announced in absentia, as they are still at large.
They were also ordered to pay compensation to the families of the victims. The total amount of payments will be 16 million euros.
